Battle of Towton

The Battle of Towton was fought on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses. The recently-crowned King Edward IV of England destroyed a Lancastrian army at Towton in North Yorkshire in the bloodiest battle ever to be fought on English soil, and the Yorkist victory forced King Henry IV, Queen Margaret of Anjou, and their son Edward, Prince of Wales to flee to Scotland.

Background
In early 1461, following his father Richard of York's death at the Battle of Wakefield a year earlier, Edward, Earl of March became the new Yorkist claimant to the throne of England. In February 1461, he defeated a Lancastrian army at Mortimer's Cross, but Queen Margaret of Anjou concurrently defeated a smaller Yorkist army at St. Albans. King Henry IV was recaptured by the Lancastrians, and, after Edward learned about the defeat, he joined forces with the remainder of Warwick's troops. As Lancastrian troops committed atrocities in the area, they lost their local support and were forced to retreat north. This allowed Edward to enter London in March and take the throne as "Edward IV". Over the next few weeks, both sides continued to recruit troops, and, on 22 March, Edward marched north to Nottingham and prepared to confront the Lancastrian army amassing at York. On 28 March, a force sent by Edward to secure Ferrybridge (near Towton) was massacred, and Edward learned that the main Lancastrian army was just two miles away. The preliminary battle at Ferrybridge was indecisive, with the Yorkists ultimately crossing the Aire River.

Battle
On 29 March 1461, amid a snowstorm, Edward and his army encamped on a hill 10 miles south of York, with their back to the village of Saxton. The Lancastrian army moved north and took position on the high ground at the meadowland to the south of Towton, with part of their cavalry hid in the forests west of the Yorkist positions. While Edward had artillery, the weather conditions did not allow its usage.

The battle started with an archery exchange, but the wind blew into the face of the Lancastrian archers, who were unable to see the enemy; they could only hear the laughter of their Yorkist counterparts through the whirlwind as their arrows fell short. The Yorkists picked up the Lancastrian arrows and fired back at them before retreating to avoid the return fire, luring the Lancastrians into melee combat. The Yorkist archers retreated behind their men at arms, leading to a fierce melee opening. The left flank of Edward's army was nearly destroyed by a Lancastrian attack, but Edward rallied his army and drove back the Lancastrians. While the Lancastrians were being overwhelmed, John Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk took the initiative and arrived with Yorkist reinforcements, flanking and routing the Lancastrians. 10,000 Yorkists and 20,000 Lancastrians were killed at Towton, the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil.

Aftermath
Edward returned to London to be crowned King, while Henry VI, Queen Margaret, and their son Edward, Prince of Wales fled to Scotland. As Lancastrian holdouts still resisted the Yorkists from Northumberland, Edward sent Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick north to deal with the last embers of Lancastrian resistance. By 1463, Warwick retook all of the Lancastrian castles and returned south. In 1463, King Edward and King James III of Scotland (who had previously backed the Lancastrians) agreed to a treaty, and, in 1464, Scottish diplomats arrived at York. To prevent the treaty from happening, Henry Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset rose up against the Yorkists, but was slain along with the rest of the Lancastrian leaders at the Battle of Hexham.